Tuesday, March 23, 2010

From The Inbox: Never-Seen McQueen Pics

Thanks to faithful reader Brenn I got a wonderful link this afternoon to a new photo collection on Life featuring some never-seen pictures of Steve McQueen. Peep all the inspiration with accompanying commentary here. As I've mentioned before, this guy's life was, and still is, the greatest lookbook of all time. Happy (early) birthday to "The King of Cool".

Thee Weeks In Steve McQueen's World

"In the spring of 1963, Steve McQueen was on the brink of superstardom, already popular from his big-screen breakout as one of The Magnificent Seven and just a couple months away from entering the Badass Hall of Fame with the release of The Great Escape. Intrigued by his dramatic backstory and his off-screen exploits — McQueen was a reformed delinquent who got his thrills racing cars and motorcycles — LIFE sent photographer John Dominis to California to hang out with the 33-year-old actor and see what he could get. Three weeks and more than 40 rolls of film later, Dominis had captured some astonishingly intimate and iconic images, photos impossible to imagine in today's restricted-access celebrity world. Only a handful of those photos have ever been published… but now, in celebration of what would have been McQueen's 80th birthday (March 24), LIFE.com presents these never-before-seen gems from that legendary assignment, along with insights from Dominis about the time he spent with the man who would become known as the King of Cool. Pictured: At his home in Palm Springs, McQueen practices his aim before heading out for a shooting session in the desert."

9 comments:

McQueen is an inspiration. They just don't make them like that any more. The Monocle Man post you wanted people to comment on yesterday had something right. I think now a days authenticity extremely contrived. What McQueen is doing here is effortless. He wasn't looking for what bran and materials were most authentic. He just wore what he liked, and people admire him for that decades later.

I saw McQueen in the original (and in my opinion the best) "The Thomas Crown Affair" last week on STARZ/Encore. His smooth cool and enigmatic character, smartly dressed in the trim look of the late 60's American male at his best was refreshing. Those were great days to be out and about, and with the means to do so with class.